How the Bruins survived with all their young defensemen

The Bruins' huge batch of young defensemen threatened to derail their season. It didn't.

By Dan CagenDaily News staff

BOSTON — The season began for Matt Bartkowski with a lot of time in suits.

Twelve times in the first 16 games, Bartkowski took his place in a seat above the ice, stationed around scouts and media. With a new contract and coming off a stellar postseason, Bartkowski thought he would be a regular member of the Bruins' defense core.

“I came into this camp expecting to play and play a role,” he said last month. “It didn't start that way.”

The 25-year-old Bartkowski was beaten out for the job to start the season by the two other young defensemen, now 23-year-old Torey Krug and 20-year-old Dougie Hamilton, both of whom were healthy scratches for multiple games down the stretch as well.

“We had one or two periods where we were scratching one of those three … and you bruise their egos and they’re young, and it can go sideways,” general manager Peter Chiarelli said.

It was the corner the Bruins had backed themselves into. Chiarelli wanted to commit to his impressive young defensemen, but even after subtracting Andrew Ference, there were seven blue liners competing for six spots. Throw in rookie Kevan Miller, who has forced himself into a main part of the defensive conversation, and seemingly every night someone was going to be on the outside looking in. There was no getting around that, not early in the season, before the injuries to Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid.

So Chiarelli entrusted someone who’s had plenty of experience dealing with young players — his head coach, Claude Julien. Before Julien entered the NHL ranks with the Canadiens in 2003, he coached the Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL as well as in the minors with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.

“The biggest mistake coaches can do is to assume, just because you’re in the NHL, [the young players are] different than they were when they were in the American League and even junior hockey,” Julien said. “Obviously, they’re a little bit more mature, they’re a little more polished as pros, but ... whether it’s a different situation or another, you’re still dealing with them.”

When Julien took a tour of North America as a journeyman defenseman in the 1980s, there were rules about when and how you talked to the head coach. One rule, really — you didn't talk to him. Not to talk hockey, anyway, and definitely not to talk about why you were or weren’t playing.

“There was a time a long time ago where you didn’t have a conversation with a coach [if you didn't play], you just kind of sucked it up and the next time you were in you just played,” Julien said. “But as everything else, this world changes, as does the game and your approach with players.”

Now?

“Right now, I think communication is a big thing between players and coaches,” Julien said. “And our young players sometimes sat out not because they weren’t playing well but because we had a bunch of young players and we want to keep everybody going. You make sure that they know that so they don’t start questioning themselves whether it’s because of their play when they are playing well.”

On a daily basis, the coaching staff meets with players, especially the young ones. There’s film work and small chats. The conversation for each player is tailored to that individual's personality. Just as Krug and Bartkowski are not the same player on the ice, they're not the same person off it.

As Julien puts it, “some players really need that extra pat while other guys need maybe a little kick in the rear.”

He’ll talk to the veterans too. Shawn Thornton was scratched a few times this season to get Jordan Caron and Matt Lindblad into the lineup; each time, Julien informed Thornton well beforehand, although an explanation is not always needed for the 36-year-old veteran.

“The way Claude treats us, it's different with each guy,” Krug said. “He expects the best out of all of us. At the same time, he's not taking every guy to the side and giving them little talks, and he's not screaming at every guy. There's different personalities on the team and you have to approach them differently.

“There's been some good talks, and some talks where he humbles you. It's all in the best interest of the team and the best interest individually.”

After practice, Julien at times will grab a player for an extended conversation. Earlier this season, he chatted with Hamilton on the Ristuccia Arena ice for 5-10 minutes after the rest of the players had gone off to the dressing room.

“Well, that’s a coach’s job,” Julien said. “You know, nowadays, it’s — you’re micromanaging in a way, where you’re not dealing so much with always a group, but a lot of individuals, and that’s where every day, I’m meeting with a player or two, or even if it’s just small chats.”

How do those small chats go with Krug?

“We have pretty calm conversations,” Krug said. “I think he understands the type of player I am and how I understand the game. It's easy to recognize some things, especially when they pull out clips and pull out the video. It's just learning things. We have some solid conversations when we talk about hockey." Krug pauses for a moment. "A lot of nodding. It goes well."

After Seidenberg and McQuaid went down for the rest of the regular season in less than four weeks, the Bruins' Stanley Cup chances seemed teetering on the brink. In the immediate aftermath of Seidenberg's removal from the lineup, the Bruins went 2-4-0 and allowed 21 goals, well off their defense-first norm.

Yet after readjusting to life minus their No. 2 defenseman, the young players stepped up. Bartkowski played his best hockey of the season from the middle of January on. Hamilton learned what extended life was like as Zdeno Chara's partner. Krug, after some rocky moments in December, was steadier.

“They've put guys out in situations whether it's Millsy going out in the last minute or on the penalty kill, or Bart shutting down other teams' top line, and Dougie obviously has been on the other team's top line all year,” Krug said. “They show a lot of confidence in us, and it's been great for our development and for our team, they've done a great job.”

Chiarelli gives much of the credit for the young players' development to Julien and the coaching staff. Assistant coach Doug Houda is primarily responsible for the defensemen.

Now the Bruins head into the playoffs. Hamilton, Krug and Miller will all be in the lineup for Game 1 against the Red Wings on Friday night. Bartkowski may not be, but only because he's believed to still be ailing from the flu and hasn't practiced all week.

“The staff — Claude and the assistants — they’ve done a good job,” Chiarelli said. “We’ve had a lot of discussions over the year regarding the integration of these guys, and that only speaks well for the future, to have these players, at this age, performing the way they’ve been performing.”